The Power of MapsThe Power of MapsUsing spatial analysis to investigate variations Using spatial analysis to investigate variations

in life-cycle costs and WASH service levelsin life-cycle costs and WASH service levels

James BatchelorJames Batchelor

Acknowledgements- Dr Snehalatha, Dr Swamy, Dr Rama Mohan Rao, Dr Jayakumar, Anitha and other colleagues in the WASHCost Office- WASHCost field teams, GoAP district-level staff and communities in the study villages- Dr Chandrasekar and staff in Geosoft Ltd. Sanjeev and Prabath from the NIIT Office

Create a stakeholder platform

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Planning Mobilising Data Acquisition QA/QC Analysis

Agree on domain(s) and scales(s) of interest

Problem identification

Agree on info that is needed and scales & granularity

•Functional stakeholder platform

•Database outline specification

Agree on responsibilities

Organise contracts for personnel, software etc

Identify sources or primary/secondary info

Capacity development

• Staff contracted, mobilised and/or capacitated

• Relevant software and hardware in place

• Sources of information identified and agreements obtained to access and use the information

Map features in domains of interest using:

• Secondary data from remote sensing, googlemaps/images. OS maps, completed projects & programmes etc

• Primary data based on; total station surveys, participatory surveys using GPS, processing of raw R/S images etc

• Set of maps showing features each with a unique code

Preliminary analysis aimed at QA/QC

Participatory ground-truthing

Triangulation

Gap filling and/or updating/correcting info

First-level analysis

Second-level analysis

Sharing preliminary findings with stakeholder platform

Finalising and making info available in accessible formats

• A range of outputs in formats that meet the expectations and demands of users

• Set of maps and attribute tables that has been QA-ed and QC-ed

Using unique codes create and tag attribute tables to relevant features on the maps using :

• Secondary data official data bases, census type surveys, earlier projects & programmes etc

• Primary data based on; PRA or RRA surveys, FGDs, KEIs, technical surveys, water accounting etc

• Set of maps with attribute tables

WASHCost India mapping process

Work done for WASHCost India

• Created a series of base maps for all 20 study villages.

• More detailed case studies are being carried out in for four villages: Tulekalan, Medipally, Venkatapuram and Gangadevrapally.

• The case studies have expanded on the base maps by using more detailed spatial analysis.

• More advanced spatial analysis such as hot spot analysis and 3D modelling has successfully been attempted.

• First attempt at using mobile GIS

What is the general spatial distribution of assets & services within the village?

• A brief examination of the Caste map of Medipally reveals that areas of different caste households are relatively delineated.

• An inspection of the land ownership map for Medipally reveals that most of the households with high land ownership are found in the south of the village and that land ownership appears to decrease the further north in the village you go.

• By combining the knowledge drawn from these two maps, it becomes apparent that the OC caste HHs have the highest land ownership and the SC caste HHs the lowest.

• By examining and comparing the base maps created, it is relatively easy to see patterns in and relationships between the different variables mapped.

Percentage of Households using

toiletsOC 80BC 40SC 14

Average household land ownership (acres)

Caste Caste AreaOC 3.4 2.7BC 0.6 0.6SC 0.2 0.2All 1.0

What is the range of assets (or services) across different communities?

• One way to better quantify the patterns and relationships revealed by the base maps is to divide the village into different areas to allow the statistic of the variables to be compared between them.

• By looking at the averages of household land ownership for the different caste areas, we can see the same pattern that was obvious in the base maps.

• Average land ownership in the OC area is more than 10 times higher than it is the SC area.

• However this is still quite a large simplification of the spatial pattern.

Multiple ring buffering

• By using multiple ring buffering we can see how the variables change relative to a central point of the village.

• This is a very effective way of capturing any prominent spatial pattern.

• Use of bar charts created from data extracted from the buffer rings is a very effective way to show spatial changes of a variable across a village.

• From these bar charts, it is possible to infer potential relationships between different variables.

Where do the ultra poor live?

• The 3 previous methods are effective at discovering and quantifying general and overriding spatial patterns within the villages.

• However they are not as effective at looking at the individual or small groups of households within these patterns.

• A more effective way of doing this is two query the data and selected and map households based on criteria for one or more variables.

• By doing this it is easy to identify and locate poor household or those who are receiving inadequate WASH services provision.

Percentage of Poor Households

Caste Caste Area

OC 17.7 15.9BC 14.8 15.1SC 13.9 14.2All 15.1

Hot Spot Analysis

• Hot spot analysis (Getis-Ord Gi* tool) identifies statistically significant concentrations of high and/or low values.

• It works by looking at each feature in the context of those features surrounding it.

• The local sum for a feature and its neighbours is compared proportionally to the sum of all features.

• When a feature’s local sum is very different from the expected local score then a statistically significant Z-score results.

• Mapping water supply infrastructure is an effective method of assessing the overall status of a village’s supply.

• These maps can be very useful for planning and construction of new infrastructure, especially if combined with design software such as CAD.

• They can also be an very useful template for the monitoring of water supply service delivery (e.g. FLOW).

Infrastructure maps: Investigating, planning and monitoring

What are the main advantages of spatial analysis and mapping?

• They can reveal trends and patterns in the data that would otherwise not have been noticed.

• Maps provide a powerful and interactive way of conveying information and ideas.

• They have the ability to simplify and increase the accessibility of complex information..........this makes them an excellent tool for sharing information with stakeholders and the public.

• They have the potential to act as a catalyst to force change and reform in the WASH sector.

• They can aid communication between different specialists within a project or organisation.

• They can create new information and meaning and help stimulate and maintain debates and discourses.

Lessons learnt and scope for Improvement

• Increase participation in mapping both within the project and involving stakeholders

• Make better use of maps in publications including stories and the web site

• Increase use of photos spatially linked to maps• Disciplined use unique GIS codes......... improve

the training to field and data processing teams• As part of water security and safety planning case

studies, map and analyse whole village and/or watershed (not just built area +10%)

• Create and use of 3D maps of drainage network, waste dumps, other point/non-point sources

• Create and use time series maps of infrastructure, service levels, LCC costs etc

• Investigate potential benefits of using GIS-linked modelling systems (e.g. SWAT, Modflow etc)

Immediate future of mapping in WASHCost

• Mobile and online mapping linked to cloud-based open-access MIS

• Development and design of decision-support software specifically for WASHCost... in India linked to pro-poor water security and safety planning

• Possible use and incorporation of other software such as FLOW and Water Point Mapper in a range WASH Apps

• Increased use of participatory mapping ... in India as part of input tracking and social auditing

• Draft mapping and spatial analysis briefing notes and paper

Whilst there is no doubt that mapping and spatial analysis can and will play an increasingly important role in many aspects of WASH services delivery (e.g. in technical and hydraulic design; planning; input tracking; social auditing understanding power relations within villages etc), it is important to recognise that:

“Maps are neither mirrors of nature nor neutral transmitters of universal truths.

They are narratives with a purpose, stories with an agenda. They contain silences as

well as articulations, secrets as well as knowledge, lies as well as truth. They are

biased, partial, and selective.”

Concluding remark

Reference: John Rennie Short, The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography (Toronto: Firefly Books, 2003), p. 24

Thank YouThank You